Comets start season with two losses

Team also lost senior leader to knee injury

The Delavan-Darien boys basketball team opened the season with two non-conference losses last week to Whitewater and Cudahy. They also lost senior wing man Reese Crull to a knee injury in Whitewater.

The Comets faced a tough task at Whitewater on Nov. 27 in a 55-38 defeat. The Whippets had a distinct size advantage with Jake Martin measuring in at 6 feet 11 inches, his brother Hunter checking in at 6 feet 8 inches, and Ben Stoll at 6 foot 7.

Coach Chris Hembrook said his Comets were definitely at a disadvantage and the plan was to stay between the big boys and the basket, box them out and rebound their misses. He said most of the night, the Comets did a good job. One stretch in the second half was all the Whippets needed to put the game away.

Whitewater’s Carter Brown scored the first two baskets for the Whippets giving them a 4-2 lead. Whitewater built a 9-2 lead on a three-pointer by Dylan Pease and a basket by 6-foot-11-inch Jake Martin. Crull, who seemed hesitant to drive to the hoop from the wing early on, started taking it to the hoop and scored twice making it 9-6. Hunter Martin then got called for a technical foul after turning the ball over on a traveling violation. Luke Freitag made both free throws to bring the Comets within 9-8.

Whitewater then used a 9-1 run to expand the lead to nine points. Oliver Hetzel hit a three and Crull made a free throw to cut it to 18-13, but the Whippets moved back on top by eight shortly thereafter. Crull injured his knee with 1:04 left in the first half and the Whippets led 27-18 at the break.

“Reese went down with eight points, and he was just starting to feel it,” Hembrook said.

“He’s a senior and a captain,” Hembrook said. “It’s tough to lose anyone, its tougher when it’s your leader.”

The Comets will head to Lake Geneva Badger (0-1) in the Southern Lakes Conference opener for both teams Friday night. DDHS will host Clinton on Dec. 11.

Read the rest of the story and more Comets sports in the Dec. 6 Delavan Enterprise.